Parkside Restaurant

RIP — i still miss you!

as the ftr lady says, this place has been sold and will now be «the spot».
hideous hipster joint? i highly doubt this will be.
if i had to guess anything, more like dragon lounge back in the good olé days… or more like rohan, but in the sunset…
ill wait to reserve judgement.
full disclosure, a buddy bought this place, grand opening this sat at 5pm.
my review of «the spot» to come asap.

This is an old neighborhood favorite and I’ve come here periodically over the past 5 years. My family likes this place as they provide a full Italian meal at a reasonable price. We come here for family dinners and my parents go for occasional weekend dinners.
My favorites are Linguini and clams with the marina sauce, Veal Scallopini, Veal Picatta, Chicken Scallopini, and Chicken Picatta. The veal and chicken are prepared well — the meat is never dry. I like the mushroom sauce which adds to the flavor of the meat. The entre also includes spaghetti and vegetables on the side. The meal includes bread, soup, salad, entre, and dessert. Coffee is included with dessert at no extra cost. Depending on what you order the entrees range from $ 10-​$ 17.
The restaurant is very cozy and clean. The wait staff is fast with filling and bringing out the orders. The wait staff is also very friendly and gives good recommendations. For larger parties, they have a big back room that can hold up to 25 – 30 people. A reservation is recommended for parties with 6 or more.

I give it four out of five from the perspective of a broke student who lives in the Sunset/​Parkside area and likes getting my moneys worth. Not a five star yuppy trend experience, but very consistent and well done.
The food: Very well prepared (not burnt, overcooked, cheaply concocted) and they serve good portions for the price they charge. Every Entrée comes with fresh bread, a bowl of soup, a small salad, dessert (delicious spumoni) and the choice of coffee or tea with free refills. Very good considering the average price is from $ 8 — $ 12. You will definitely fill your belly and maybe even have some leftovers to take home. The only thing that bothered me was that the spaghetti sauce tasted like Spanish sopa sauce rather than Italian, which seems fair considering all of the chefs were Asian, and probably a little out of their element. Not quite the flavors of the heart of Italy, but still good.
The staff: Very friendly, professional, and clean. The lady who served us made me feel so comfortable that I just wanted to give her a big fat tip, especially after saving so much money on the meal.

I’ve been to this restaurant about six times over the past four months, and it’s high time I give it its due. Parkside Restaurant is this unassuming little place on Taraval that advertises Italian and American food, with an entirely Asian staff (it appears to be family run). I’ve never been disappointed.
Let’s start with lunch. I have three words for you: Eggplant. Parmesan. Sandwich. Who knew that such a thing existed? I don’t care if you hate eggplant — just get this sandwich. It’s basically a grilled cheese sandwich with eggplant parmesan in place of the cheese. I had no idea such a thing could be so amazing. I dream about this sandwich. It’s so simple, but oh my god, yummy. And cheap!
Now let’s talk about dinner. I’ve never been to a place with this incredible a deal. Tonight, for instance, I had lasagna for ten bucks and my wife had baked ravioli for nine. Fair price… but then you also get fresh warm bread (nothing fancy, but it seems homemade), soup (if they have the split pea, get it), salad (again, nothing fancy — just a little palate cleanser), the entrée, dessert (oh, apple cobbler!) and coffee or tea. Come on! That is a deal and a half.
The food itself is really good. It’s nothing amazing — simple fare for the most part, but prepared well. I’ve waxed rhapsodicly enough about the eggplant parmesan sandwich already, but I also love the lasagna. I haven’t tried the «American» fare yet, but I’m confident that it’s well-​prepared, too. And with all of the extras that you get, you can probably take half of your entrée home as leftovers.
The décor isn’t fancy — it’s just a mom and pop neighborhood restaurant. But it’s clean, and the service is friendly. I wouldn’t bring out of town guests here to show off the best San Francisco has to offer, but I would totally bring friends here to get good, cheap eats with a homey atmosphere. I’ve already brought friends here for exactly that. I live in Glen Park, so it’s a bit out of my way to get over the hill to the Sunset, but I’ve gone there more than once specifically to eat at Parkside Restaurant. Honestly, I don’t know how they’re turning a profit with these prices, but I’m glad they’re here!

Based on Candy’s review, took my mom here for Sunday lunch. It was a great choice. Service was friendly and accommodating. The food was good, with a wide selection of Italian and American choices. My mum ordered Eggplant Parmigiana — it was a huge serving and she loved it. Others ordered the veal and chicken parmigiana, and I had the veal picatta.
All entrees come with a small crisp green salad, a bowl of nice vegetable soup, dessert and coffee/​tea — what a bargain! We didn’t realize the dinners came with everything and ordered a bunch of appetizers to share: perfect fried shrimp (thanks for suggesting it, Candy!), fried calamari (these were long, succulent strips, not the typical rings and tentacles), and the really addictive garlic cheese bread. The shrimp and calamari came with some nice dipping sauces.
The entrees range from $ 8.95 to $ 12.95 (for the NY steak), and the menu has lots of meats, pastas, oven-​baked Italian dishes. The wines are a real bargain too. We didn’t try them, so I don’t know who they’re using — I’d imagine it’s a pretty modest line.
For four of us, including the appetizers and one beer, and a very nice tip, the total was $ 72!!!
The décor is simple and nice — lots of vintage SF photographs.
My mum says this is now one of her new favorites. So SCORE!
I give it five stars because it excels at what it is: a family-​owned small neighborhood restaurant that really appeals to its target audience.
My one tip for the restaurant is that they need to either clean the carpet near the front door, or replace it with tile or hardwood — it is stained and the first impression is one of dinginess. However, the overall restaurant is very clean and nice. The restaurant is roomy and can accomodate large groups by combining tables. With prices and service like this, along with a menu with something for everyone, it seems like a great place for a big family to join together and enjoy a nice meal without having to refinance the house.

This local Sunset eatery provides an excellent meal at reasonable prices. Most of the patrons are locals and of course senior citizens. The food is not well seasoned as a concession to their clientele but what a great value. The meals include a full entrée, salad and soup, and a dessert. The bread was plentiful and hot. Since it is a family run business, the service was both friendly and excellent.

I felt like I could make this same kind of food at home, but better.
It wasn’t awful, but the sauce on my chicken cacciatore tasted a bit manufactured. Maybe it was just because I was having a bad day.
The prices were unbeatable. I definitely left full. I was shocked that you could buy a bottle of wine around 10 bucks? Was I seeing things?
The garlic cheese bread was SO good, though. I thoroughly enjoyed that. The bread was slightly crisp, but soft on the inside; right blend of garlic and cheese; not too garlicky, not too cheesy and oily. I thought it was superb.
The three stars are for the kind service, not having to wait, and for getting a nice booth by the window.

Born & Raised!
Parksiiiide! haha

For a family owned joint, there is almost no place better if you are looking for a no-​frills, full course meal. For about $ 11, you get vegetable soup (clam chowder on Fridays), salad (1000 island, Ranch, Italian, Blue cheese, honey mustard if you ask for it), the entrée of course, and a desert (choices are Spumoni ice cream, jello, tapiocca, apple cobbler, and Lemon meringue on Fridays). Everything is made at the restaurant fresh, so you are never getting canned food, and everything on the menu is good. The main chef (one of the sons) used to work at Milano’s and stole all their pizza and Italian cuisine secrets!
Note: lots of senior citizens. When it gets busy staff gets slightly overwhelmed.
Bias: How do I know this? I worked here as a busboy when I was in high school for two years. I’ve tried everything, and everything’s superb.

¹⁄₂₀₀₈ Update:
Gawd, I’m going to cry. They sold the business and it’s now being remodeled into some hideous hipster place called the «Spot.» Sorry I know this is a biased opinion but I really loved their Italian food! Especially the homemade bread and desserts!
RIP Parkside! :(
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I used to eat here during college when it was known as Bo’s. Parkside kept the same concept as Bo’s. Cheap italian/​american food in good portions.
For approximately $ 12 (their most expensive item on the menu), you get soup, salad, the entrée (which comes with either pasta or veggies depending on what you ordered) coffee or tea and dessert. We ate here recently.
Service was ok (we were a big group and there was a lag time between the soup and salad). One thing if you go there. Their pasta dishes are on the cold side. People in my party had the grilled or meat dishes and those came out piping hot. My linguini was cold. After I asked them to reheat it, it still came back lukewarm!
Dessert was good. Had the lemon meringue pie!
This place is frequented by the gray haired set so the kitchen closes by 8:30 pm. Don’t go here if you want a late dinner!

Parkside is a down low dining establishment. Most of the people eating there are locals and typically seniors. The prices and quality of food is on par with my rating. It’s not a 1^st date restaurant but it is a great deal! My personal favorite broiled chicken, hamburger with mushroom, and the garlic bread.